Susan Patricia Griffith Sells 30,660 Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Stock

Key Points

• Susan Patricia Griffith, CEO of The Progressive Corporation, sold 30,660 shares of stock at an average price of $242.12, totaling approximately $7.42 million, and now holds 506,945 shares valued at about $122.74 million.
• Progressive's stock is currently trading at $240.79, showing a 0.3% decrease, with analysts predicting a 14.68 EPS for the current year.
• The company also announced a $0.10 per share dividend, resulting in a yield of 0.15%, and has a high institutional ownership of 85.34%.

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total transaction of $7,423,399.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,741,523.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Progressive Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of PGR stock traded down $1.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $240.98. 3,201,172 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,755,347. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $260.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.02. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $208.13 and a 52-week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 4th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 15.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI downgraded Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.88.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 8.8% during the second quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 1,954 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 87,760 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $23,420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,267 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 30,479 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,134,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in Progressive by 54.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 229,070 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $61,130,000 after acquiring an additional 80,500 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Progressive

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.